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Fordhall Farm Lives

Last month Los Angeles' South Central community farm was bulldozed. A scenario that was depressing for many, as this was an icon of local food harvesting, right where the people wanted it. A remarkably parallel battle has been underway in the UK. Fordhall Farm one of the oldest organic farms in Britain was on the chopping block. We covered the story before, here and here. The great news is that the two twenty-somethings have been successful in raising the £800,000 (~ $1,458,000 USD ) by selling shares in the land for £50 each. ‘The campaign has been run from the 16th-century farmhouse where Charlotte and Ben were brought up. "Things have gone crazy in the last couple of weeks," said Charlotte. "We have 10 or 15 volunteers every day processing applications. We now have 5,500 shareholders. A few weeks ago we had only 2,500.’ Just as South Central had some A-List celebs helping out, so too had Fordhall, in the shape of Sting and Prince Charles, amongst others. A hard fought and well deserved win for the Hollins brother and sister duo of Ben and Charlotte, and their band of merry volunteers. A brilliant effort in securing the longer term viability of a heritage organic from the ravages of commercial development. Reason enough for fireworks. Fordhall Farm via The Guardian and The BBC.